Mesopotamia, USA.
Naseer Shamasha holds a letter he received from the "Islamic Republic of Iraq" warning his family to leave or they would be killed because they are Iraqi Christians from the village of Teleskof near Mosul. In Iraq, Mr. Shamasha was a farmer and his sons were in high school and college. They received threatening letters from the "Islamic Republic of Iraq" saying that Christians did not believe in Mohammed, were from the devil and were not good for the country. They were told that they must leave or they would be killed. After fleeing to Erbil in the Kurdish north of the country and then to Lebanon where they stayed for over 2 years, Mr. Shamasha and his family arrived in the U.S. in March 2013. One son worked in a bank in Iraq and would like to study finance, another wants to study accounting and Mr. Shamasha would like to farm once again, but the assistance they receive as new arrivals will soon run out and the family is desperate to find jobs. When they arrived in America, they were surprised by all the rules and regulations, the security, the quiet, the freedom, the public services, the friendliness of the people and the respect that they encountered, but they were also astounded that there were no jobs. They expected to find work right away in the United States. The government assistance they receive will last only eight months and it is not even enough to pay the rent on their house. Mr. Shamasha says, "In Iraq, we had money, but no life. Here there is a good life, but we don't have enough money." El Cajon, CA, USA. 07/05/2013.
